Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Speaking Tree Blog | Oct 5, 2020
God, in creating man, endowed him with nobility of character. He then set him down in a world fraught with moral dangers, a world where such circumstances exist as can at any moment incite him to fall into evil ways. For man, life becomes a great moral tussle, a struggle in which right and wrong pull him in opposite directions. Those who consistently do good works while treading the straight and narrow path, who, in short, do their utmost to preserve the noble image in which God created man, will be amply rewarded by God, while those who become abased and wicked, sinking into sin and cor¬ruption will be consigned without second thoughts to hellfire and damnation.
The present world is a testing ground: it has been created solely for that purpose. Here, fear of loss and hope of gain arouse ignoble feelings, in particular, the desire to exploit one’s fellowmen. Ego is the great obstacle which bars the way to justice. Here, sensual enticements lead man to seek ephemeral pleasures. A clash of interests engenders anger, hatred and niggardliness. This is what is meant by earth being the ‘lowest of the low’, as it is called in the Quran (95:5).
Man is required to rise above such base impulses and prove himself worthy of his noble image. It can be ascertained whether a fruit is good or bad only when it is cut open. Human beings are no different in this respect. Whether they live in the company of Angels, or spend their time hobnobbing with Satan can be known only when, as psychic entities, they are split asunder–when they are confronted with dire adversity. Their essen¬tial natures are revealed in situations which are full of stress and temptations.
The evil take their cue from the devil, while the virtuous act on the promptings of the angels, their lives being characterized by love, self¬lessness, justice and humility. Adversity reveals whether or not man truly remembers God. Those who exhibit divine traits of character even in the face of adversity, are the sole creatures who will have the honour to live in proximity of God when they enter the world hereafter.